On the day of the 2026 Championship season beginning, the RFL have confirmed that the competition’s play-off system will look like.
Salford RLFC will kickstart their new era and also open up the season when they host Oldham tonight and just under 12 hours before that game gets under way, we now know what the Championship play-off format will look like.
It had previously been confirmed to be a 10-team system but with Featherstone Rovers recently being denied RFL membership and entry to the competition, there were still questions over if that system was locked in.
The RFL have now confirmed that it will remain a 10-team play-off series with an extended and amended version of the McIntyre system to be used.
By confirming how the play-offs will work, we also have confirmation that the Championship Grand Final will be played on the weekend of October 10th and 11th, one week after the Super League Grand Final.
Check out the latest episode of The Serious About Rugby League Show on our YouTube channel here.
How the Championship play-offs will work
The teams who finish first and second in the league will massively benefit in this play-off system with both sides set to earn a bye in week one of the play-offs whilst also having second chances should they lose further in the play-offs.
A total of 13 games will be played across five weeks with week one seeing four games played. The teams who place first and second will have a bye whilst teams placing seventh to tenth will play against each other in eliminators.
That leaves teams from third to sixth playing qualifying games. Those who win will play first and second in qualifying finals, whilst the losers will play the winners of the eliminators in two elimination finals.
That means by week three, just six teams remain with the winners of the qualifying finals progressing to home semi-finals. The losers of the qualifying finals then play the winners of the elimination finals, leading to a standard four-team semi-final stage.
From there, it’s a standard bracket but the highest-ranked semi-final winner will earn home advantage for the Grand Final.
Below are a list of the games as well as a graphic to easier explain the system.
Week 1
Teams 1 & 2 bye – through to Week 2
Qualifying Semi Final 1 – 3 v 5
Qualifying Semi Final 2 – 4 v 6
Eliminator 1 – 7 v 10
Eliminator 2 – 8 v 9
Week 2
Qualifying Final 1 – 1 v Highest Ranked Qualifying Semi Final Winners
Qualifying Final 2 – 2 v Lowest Ranked Qualifying Semi Final Winners
Elimination Final 1 – Highest Ranked Qualifying Semi Final Losers v Lowest Ranked Eliminator Winners
Elimination Final 2 – Lowest Ranked Qualifying Semi Final Losers v Highest Ranked Eliminator Winners
Week 3
Winners of Qualifying Final 1 & 2 – through to home semi finals
Sudden Death Play Off 1 – Highest Ranked Loser of Qualifying Finals v Lowest Ranked Winner of Elimination Finals
Sudden Death Play Off 2 – Lowest Ranked Loser of Qualifying Finals v Highest Ranked Winner of Elimination Finals
Week 4
Preliminary Final 1 – Highest Ranked Qualifying Final Winners v Lowest Ranked Sudden Death Play Off Winners
Preliminary Final 2 – Lowest Ranked Qualifying Final Winners v Highest Ranked Sudden Death Play Off Winners
Week 5
Grand Final – Highest Ranked Winner of Preliminary Finals v Lowest Ranked Winner of Preliminary Finals
👇 The 2026 @Betfred Championship Play-Off structure pic.twitter.com/dbOUy32639
— Rugby Football League (@TheRFL) January 16, 2026
